When a fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) fishing boat is abandoned, its damage is only just beginning. Sunken FRP boats are destroying fishing gear, damaging nets, and threatening the livelihoods of fishers across India’s coasts.
Down To Earth sits down with Manju Lekshmi, Senior Scientist at ICAR-CIFT, for an expert look at the FRP boat crisis. We also speak with Madhu, a fisher from Kochi who shares how sunken, abandoned boats regularly tear through the nets and gear of fishers, hitting their income hard.